December 2004
Has anyone any experience of buying from Motorpoint? They have what appear to be some good deals at present. Read more
Hi, I have moved an issue over from "Technical" because it did not get much response there.
Re the vague possibility of chipping my '02 Mondeo TDCi Ghia X 130 I have had a look at the archives on the "Diesel Car" website, according to both Superchips and Bromleys/Tunit many standard cars produce more power than quoted by the manufacturer though others are spot on, for instance:
Mondeo Ghia Estate TDCi - 148bhp (+20)
X-Type 2.0d - 147 bhp (+19)
A4 TDi 130 Quattro - 147bhp (+17)
320d - 154bhp (+4)
Rover 75 CDT - 116bhp (=)
I wonder how many cars are actually more powerful than quoted by the manufacturer and if this applies to petrol as well as diesel?
Whether my Mondeo produces 128 or 148bhp the performance is excellent however the idea if a significant gain for a few hundred quid appeals. My car has done 83k though is in good order, can anyone say from experience whether I am likely to encounter any mileage related problems if I were to go down the chipping route.
Lastly, with regard to the TDCi's Ford periodically introduce revised ECU settings, I am not sure if the chip/box will override these standard settings or work togther with them, i.e. would it be a good idea to have the latest ECU update before getting a chip/tuning box fitted or would it not make any difference?
Many thanks.
Regards. Read more
Hi, What car have you had chipped?
my 911 spends it's summer parked on the road and winter in a rented garage. THis is expensive so I'm looking for a cheaper option
something called Carcoon seems to be good, or an American product called Permabag also
Both seem to do the same, ie a large dehumidifying bag
does anyone have any experience of these products?
feedback very welcome Read more
I assume you mean the exterior Carcoon (or the in garage model) with the fan? This gets the thumbs up from Practical Classics mag if cost is not an issue, mainly because it dries the car, keeps the air moving in and around the car and doesn't touch the paintwork so the car can be put into wet & dirty without the paint getting scratched.
A general question - how long do they last on modern cars ? My Corolla's done 140k now in 4 years .... Read more
Well, my injected '84 Jaguar could well be still using its original injectors. They're probably unfashionably large and inefficient, but are/were made by Lucas based on a Bosch design. They even survived several years laid up. A dose of cleaner sorted them. As for modern ones? You could always take them out and get them cleaned, which will establish whether their performance (flow rate and spray pattern) has deteriorated. You're lucky, there are only four of them, not twelve.
I've bought all our familys cars from auctions for years now, then it extended to helping friends and relatives buy cars from auctions, hell I even bought my rally car fully prepared from auction!
The only thing that has stopped me from selling cars part time is the hassle of advertising a car in the local paper, when you live 5 miles out of town.
So i've been watching ebay grow in popularity with interest, and am considering buying a few cars to sell on Ebay. (no, seriously - stop laughing!)
I have the bookkeeping/accountancy knowledge to set up and keep the records for a limited company. Also am uptodate with second hand car VAT rules
I?ve had reasonable quotes for comprehensive motor trade insurance, to include public liability and sales indemnity cover. (Anybody want to suggest some good companies to get quotes from)
I?m assuming the trade insurance allows me to tax vehicles registered in my name, hence I can actually save money on my current premium as I can drop the insurance on my road car, 4x4 and rally car.
I?ve got a 4wd and trailer which I use for my rallycar, this would enable me to collect cars from auction, although I aim to get a set of trade plates. Anyone know what the DVLA would require to satisfy them to issue a set?
Space to store the cars off the road is not a problem as I live on a farm. But do traders need to notify the DVLA that they have particular cars on their forecourt and SORN them? I don?t want to register them to myself, as I don?t want to add additional names to the logbook, and wait a month for it to come back. However equally I don?t want the DVLA to find half a dozen untaxed cars on the farm!
What kind of things would the major auction houses require for a trade buyers account. (I usually use a small independent which charges very little commission). Is certificate of Incorporation / Company Bank Account / Trade Insurance / Reference from small auction likely to satisfy them?
The commissions charged by BCA/Manheim to private buyers are extortionate. If I remember correctly its over £100 on a £500 car. What reductions can you expect as a trade buyer, and do you have to buy x number of cars a year to retain the account?
As for selling the cars I?ve been comparing the Ebay prices of local vehicles hitting their reserve and not bought by Singaporian con-men! Against the main dealer px?s with good MOT?s at the local auction which meet reserve.
I think I?ve identified an opportunity in the more unusual or slightly higher mileage fleet cars (basically the stuff the independent garages don?t want on their forecourts). From about £500 to £2500. I?ve ?dry run? it with a couple of cheapies successfully, so am raring to go.
I have good Ebay feedback from my private dealings to instil confidence for customers
I have set up a checklist to try to ensure I find (and disclose or repair) any faults with each car before I sell it, and an adequate accounting / stock system.
More importantly I don?t need to make a living out of this (I have another flexible job), just could do with some extra money to fund the rallying.
So you?ve heard the story now, any comments/advice/answers to above questions? Or anything I should consider but have forgotton about?
Thanks
James
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> I would imagine that proof of insurance would be one of the
> requirments to get the trade plates in the first place.
No, you can get trade plates without insurance. The DVLA will visit your premises and check you're legimate (I run an import business from home). The DVLA guy who visited me was a retired traffic cop and turned out to be a nice guy. He just wanted to see that I kept proper records etc.
As it happened I never used the trade plates (any car deliveries were handled by a transported) and so I chopped them in after a year. They cost the same as a tax disc (£165) and are effectively tax for unlicensed vehicles but can only be used for business use (no trips to pub). The car can't be left parked anywhere on trade plates either.
Your DVLA local office will advise.
I've got a 6 year old Polo automatic which I bought this time last year. The warranty that I was sold with it is up for renewal and I'm trying to work out whether or not it's worth forking out a few hundred quid for a new one. My main worry is that the autobox will fail and I'll be left with a massive bill (that happened to me on my previous car and I was forced to sell it).
Anyone got any thoughts?
for background info the car has 45k on the clock and I do between 12 and 15k a year in it. Read more
> but please save yourself some cash by supplying the belt and tensioner yourself (best price at www.gsfcarparts.com).
He's getting it done by a garage so that he has a warranty. If you supply the parts yourself, you _effectively_ don't get a warranty.
If the belt snaps, the garage will say it's due to a defective belt, and the manufacturer will say it's due to bad fitting. Neither will want to yield (why would they? they only stand to lose money) and you're left as piggy in the middle, mediating between two uncooperative parties, needing expensive "expert" opinions, days off work to go to court and so on. If you're paying for the labour anyway, pay the extra £20 for the belt, that's my advice :-)
-Mark
What size clutch did these use? I have been told 200mm but need confirmation asap please. Read more
Yep, I'm on aussiefrogs too, known as RossD down under, lol.
Some time ago I saw an "old" (original style) VW Beetle on a P-plate (P at the front, as in 1997, not 1977). It was going the other way so I thought perhaps I'd just misread it.
On Sunday I saw another, on an R plate. I was walking, it was parked, I got a good look. Definitely R, standard 1997/8 (whatever) plate.
Can anyone explain this?
Built back in the 70s, forgotten for 20 years and late registered? My car was manufactured in 95 but registered in 98 - still I have to have an N plate, not S.
Just interested really.
Ta,
Mark Read more
Mystery solved, thanks chaps!
what gearbox does a 309 glxd on a K reg use. Thanks Read more
It will be the BE3 box (i think)
My wife bought a new Citroen C8 in September, everything was fine until 2 weeks ago when she noticed a large amount of smoke coming from the front wheel arches. I asked her about her journey that day, it was normal apart from some heavy jams on the school run (it was the morning that the A3 was shut after a fatality).
The car was taken to the local Citroen dealer who performed a thorough inspection and could find nothing wrong with it.
She's noticed a burning smell on a few occasions since. I also noticed one on Saturday after I'd been stuck in slow moving traffic and was using the clutch to hold the car on a slight hill.
Citroen examined the car again yesterday and could find nothing wrong. They think its down to the way the car is being driven and, in particular, the use of the clutch. But could this actually cause a large amount of smoke?
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Using the *clutch* to hold it on a slight hill?
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The "Ford" in Fords of Winsford is the surname of the family which owns the company - I've been with people several times who have bought cars there and was impressed all round.
It offers a giant, well organised and laid out vehicles' display area and features a wide range of marques.
However, part exchange prices offered reflect the lower prices charged for vehicles on sale.
Re Motorpoint - it was the company featured in a multi-part series shown on TV about a year ago and, as far as I'm concerned, presented a number of reasons why I wouldn't be too inclined to deal with it....:-))
Carcraft is a firm that has had somewhat dubious TV exposure on consumer relations programes, although it claims to have cleaned up its act ("We've listened to what our customers want etc....")
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